I know it's possible to import an Illustrator file into a spline object, and extrude that. Is there any way to do the same with a vertex object? I haven't been able to, and it would save me gobs of time if i could.

What I do, is import the ai file into the spline modeler and then use the "Convert to another modeler" feature.  It's under the edit menu.  I some times have to play around with fidelity to get what I want.

I too would like to be able to import directly to the vertex modeler.

keith, that's what I've been doing too. And previously, for my work, extruding in the spline modeler was fine. But with C6's champher tool - which adds a level of realism that will take my projects to the next level - converting spline objects into vertex objects makes for a host of issues with said tool.

So, right now, I'm deleting the extruded section, emptying the polys, deleting all those blasted line segments, then welding the segments, point by point, then extruding... whew! I'm beat just typing this out.